Newswise — A professor from the University of California-San Diego has been chosen provost and executive vice president of academic affairs for The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Dr. Vistasp M. Karbhari was named to the post by UAHuntsville President David Williams.
"Vistasp's performance in front of the faculty was masterful and revealed an attention to detail and a level of research that revealed an extraordinary commitment to this position," Williams said. "I am extraordinarily impressed with his energy and his academic prowess. He has my complete confidence that not only can he lead academic affairs, but he can take us to levels that we did not believe we could attain."
Karbhari has been serving as a professor and vice chairman of the Department of Structural Engineering at UC-San Diego prior to his appointment at UAHuntsville. He joined UC-San Diego in 1995 after serving at the University of Delaware as a researcher in Delaware's Center for Composite Materials.
He will join the university on September 1. "Through the years I'd heard of the changes, both at The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the surrounding community, as it grew in excellence and stature to the enviable position that it currently occupies," Karbhari said. "UAHuntsville is a young, vibrant university in the midst of a thriving community with an incredible array of Fortune 1000 companies, a burgeoning economy, a tremendous wealth of intellectual talent, and some of the best faculty, staff and students that a university could have."
Karbhari said the university has made incredible advances in a short period of time. "The University of Alabama in Huntsville has already had a tremendous impact and each of the five colleges has, in a short space of time, risen to a high level of excellence. Clearly the quality of the faculty continues to rise and with it the competition for admission to its programs.
" I've been impressed with the level of excellence and the dynamic nature of the university " leading in the development of new areas of study, new programs, and new technology."
Colleagues praised Karbhari's appointment.
"Vistasp is a gifted researcher and investigator, a devoted teacher and mentor, and a deeply principled colleague. He is a superb choice as the new provost," said Michael Bernstein, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost of Tulane University. "Vistasp has distinguished himself in his scholarship, in various leadership roles he has held at the University of California-San Diego, and in his passionate concern for the education and training of undergraduate and graduate students. He will provide tremendous academic vision, a profound conviction for the integrity and transparency of decision-making in a university environment, and a wonderful and personable style of communication and interaction with others."
William Kreysler, president of Kreysler & Associates, Inc., a custom molder of composite products for the construction industry, said Karbhari is regarded as a leading expert in his field.
"His tireless support of initiatives to bridge the gap between academia and industry, and his frequent contributions to our trade association members, has resulted in the well earned reputation of being someone we can rely on for advice and council as we pursue an increasingly complex business environment," Kreysler said. "We all talk about the need to bring academia and industry closer together. Professor Karbhari is an example of one who practices what we all preach. The University of Alabama at Huntsville is indeed fortunate to have him on their faculty and I know I speak for many in our industry when I say I look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with him along with the opportunities our material systems' future has before it."
Graduate School Dean Deborah Moriarity led the university's search team to locate Karbhari.
"Dr. Karbhari was a clear stand-out in the pool of candidates," she said. "As the interviews progressed, he clearly rose to the top and I am delighted that he will be coming to UAHuntsville. He brings a new perspective, enthusiasm and passion for education and research that will be essential to reach the goals set by President Williams in his inaugural address."
Williams agreed, saying Karbhari's role at the university is important to UAHuntsville's future expansion. "His knowledge as an academician and his skills as an administrator will bring the necessary leadership to help provide future direction for our campus," he said. "I will be counting heavily on him to help advance the university in a number of academic pursuits. We have established a number of goals through our Power of 10 initiative and he will play a key role as we strive to meet those targets."
Some of those academic goals include:"¢ 1 international campus (100)"¢ 10 new degree programs (101)"¢ 100 Ph.D.s a year (102)"¢ 1,000 co-ops and internships/year (103)"¢ 10,000 students (104)
Dr. Karbhari earned his doctorate at the University of Delaware in 1991, and his master's and bachelor degrees at the University of Poona, India.
He has been the author and co-author of more than 180 refereed papers in scientific journals, books and monographs, and more than 260 papers in conference proceedings, in addition to other technical reports. Dr. Karbhari has won numerous awards for his publications, including the IIFC President's Award in 2006, the 2006 Best Paper Award at the European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring and the Career Award from the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Karbhari's research interests include the mechanics and manufacturing science of composites, infrastructure rehabilitation, the durability of composites and polymers. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on more than $27 million in externally funded research projects at UC-San Diego since 1995.
He holds a patent on "Composite Components Having Felt Reinforcement and Method for the Manufacture Thereof" and is the author or co-author of two books — Durability of Composites for Civil Structural Applications, and Emerging Materials for Civil Infrastructure. He also edited a two-volume book, Proceedings of the 45th International SAMPE Symposium and Exhibition, Volumes 1 and 2. He is an editorial board member of the ASTM Journal for Testing and Evaluation, Composite Structures and American Editor of International Journal of Materials and Product Technology.
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